It’s
that time again!
The Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative is calling on Ohioans for a second year of Milkweed pod collections! This project started in 2015 as a 7 county pilot and last year hundreds of Ohioans worked together last fall to collect approximately 200 lbs of common milkweed seeds, totaling over 19 million seeds!
Milkweed is the only host plant for the Monarch butterfly for
egg laying and caterpillar rearing. It also serves as a food source for
Monarchs as well as many other pollinator species. The disappearance of
milkweed across the U.S. has contributed to the 80% decline of the eastern
monarch butterfly population over the last 20 years. We are working hard to
change this and you can help! Lets make our collection efforts in 2017 even
better by following these simple tips!
• Make sure that before you collect seed, you become familiar with the common milkweed to avoid harvesting pods from similar plants such as hemp dogbane and swamp milkweed
• It is best to collect the pods when they are dry, grey, or brown. IT IS IMPORTANT TO CHECK THIS
• If the center seam pops with gentle pressure, they can be harvested.
• Store the pods in paper bags; plastic bags collect unwanted moisture.
• Put the date and county collected on the bag when you turn them in.
• Keep the pods in a cool, dry area until you can deliver them to the nearest collection site.
If you have questions regarding milkweed collection, please contact Marci Lininger at marci_lininger@fws.gov or Lori Stevenson at Lori_Stevenson@fws.gov.
Collections start September 1st and goes until October 30th (we will accept pods until November 1st)
Additional info can be found on the Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative
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